


Big Little Kids

by perfect_cadence (Perfect_Cadence)



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Cor and Iris babysit, Gen, Mental De-aging
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-24
Updated: 2018-01-24
Packaged: 2019-03-08 22:34:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,327
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13467969
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Perfect_Cadence/pseuds/perfect_cadence
Summary: Fill for prompt: Something handwavey happens which results in the bros being mentally regressed to 3 or 4 but still retaining their adult bodies.Cor and Iris hole up somewhere safe with them to take care of them until it wears off. All their embarrassing childhood secrets are laid bare: who was a bedwetter, who was afraid of the dark, who sucked their thumb etc.





	Big Little Kids

After today, Iris was determined that she if she ever got married, she was never having more than one child!

She’d thought Cor had been joking when he’d called her and explained that after a hunt where they’d had to take on some undisclosed creature, her brother and his three friends had wound up mentally regressed to pre-schoolers. 

Apparently it had spat some sort acid over them which had eroded their mental capabilities and now she and Cor were playing babysitters in Lestallum until the effects wore off.

Thank the Astrals Cor had been with him at the time – naturally, the creature hadn’t been able to land anything on him! Iris dreaded to think what might have happened had they been left unsupervised in the wild in this state! 

It had been left to Cor to drive them in the Regalia back to the Leville. In all the years she’d known her surrogate uncle, Iris had genuinely never seen him look so stressed as he had done when he’d arrived. Apparently, Noctis and Gladio had squabbled the whole way there, Prompto had asked a million questions about everything they passed and Ignis had fretted that he didn’t know where his mummy was and that he was talking to a stranger.

Thankfully there was a suite available at the Leville that would fit them all and so here they were; looking after four very large toddlers. It was possibly the weirdest day she had ever had, sitting them down on the floor of the suite and coaxing them into watching some cartoons on the TV while Cor contacted everyone he knew to see if there was a way to fix this faster. They were, at least, all potty trained and were able to go to the bathroom themselves – thank the Astrals for small mercies.

She soon found out that Prompto was sweet, Ignis timid and Noctis and Gladio giggly and boisterous. They made it through three episodes of a show about animated space pirates before Noctis and Gladio started to squabble over who was the best character. Noctis announced Gladio was a stupid poop-head and Gladio pushed him over; except that as a toddler Gladio had had nothing like the strength he did now and he pushed Noctis so hard he flew into Prompto and knocked the blond over, causing him to strike his chin sharply on the floor and promptly burst into noisy tears.

While Cor comforted Prompto and tried to get him to stop crying, Iris had surreally found herself sternly scolding her six foot five brother for being naughty and putting him in the corner for a time out. Ignis then refused to play with Noctis because he’d helped make Prompto cry, Noctis had thrown a tantrum, been soundly scolded by Cor and had been put in time out too; ending up with a smack on the behind when he’d tried to bite the Marshal.

Iris found some paper and pencils to occupy Ignis and Prompto until the other two calmed down and, once they’d been forced to apologise to each other, the four boys thankfully settled down quietly. Ignis picked up the nearest book – a tourist guide to Lestallum – and ‘read’ the others a story; clearly making up the words as he went along and okay, it was kind of adorable. 

Cor cooked them all dinner and supervised while the ‘kids’ ate. A small battle ensued getting Noctis to do more than pick at his food, but eventually they were all fed and, as the evening wore on, they got quiet and sleepy. Iris stepped out of the room while Cor got them all changed into their sleepwear, wanting to spare their privacy as much as she could, and by the time she returned, all four were tucked into two double beds; Noctis and Prompto in one and Ignis and Gladio in the other.

“M’sorry I was bad,” said Gladio quietly, as she gave him a kiss goodnight.

“All forgiven now, Gladdy.” She promised him with a smile. “Sleep tight.”

She’d bid goodnight to the others and gone to turn out the light by the bed when Prompto had pleaded to keep it on so the monsters couldn’t get them. The dark, he said, was scary. Iris had duly left it on and had gone to join Cor in the adjoining room of the suite to watch something on TV that wasn’t cartoons. Who knew kids were this exhausting?!

When she checked on them an hour later, she found that Gladio was sound asleep, curled peacefully on his side with his thumb in his mouth. She quickly snapped a couple of photos on her phone. As protective as she felt of her brother while he was in this state, she wasn’t above gathering a little blackmail material for when he was back to normal.

Prompto and Noctis were out like lights too; Prompto hidden wholly under the bedcovers while Noctis lay spread out like a starfish and drooled. 

Ignis, though, hadn’t settled yet. Iris watched from the door as he fidgeted anxiously and tossed and turned; clearly distressed.

“Iggy? You ok, honey?” Iris asked quietly, coming up beside the bed and rubbing his arm gently. “Can’t you sleep?”

Ignis opened his eyes and Iris was surprised to see tears brimming. “I don’t have my blankie,” he said fretfully, voice small and quiet. “I can’t sleep without my blankie.”

“Aw, sweetie, don’t be upset,” Iris soothed him. “I’ll go see if I can find something for you.”

She quickly fished a cashmere scarf from her handbag; she’d been wearing it when she left Insomnia. It was too hot to wear it here, but it had been a gift from her Dad and there was no way she was leaving it behind anywhere. Still though, she could let Ignis have it for a short while.

“I know it’s not your special blanket,” she told him, handing it over when she went back through to their bedroom. “But it’s nice and soft – you think maybe it will help you till you get your other one back?”

Ignis took the scarf, clutching it tightly and nuzzling his face into it. It felt so weird to see; Ignis had never been anything but grown-up and proper for as long as Iris had known him. Of all of them, she wouldn't have put him down as the one who needed a security blanket. Shyly, he nodded.

“Good,” Iris tucked him up again, relieved. “You sleep tight now.”

He was fast asleep twenty minutes later.

By the time ten o’clock came, Iris and Cor were utterly exhausted and so called it a night themselves; he taking one couch in the sitting room and she the other. They fell asleep almost immediately.

Iris started awake at the sound of the bathroom door closing sharply in the early hours of the morning. Across the room, Cor sat up too. He went to the bedroom to check on their charges while Iris went in the opposite direction to the bathroom, hearing sniffles behind the door and a little whimper. It was Noctis.

“Noctis? Are you ok, buddy?” she asked gently, and the sniffling intensified. “Are you feeling sick?”

“…I peed,” sniffled Noctis on the other side of the door. “I’m sorry!”

Why was he sorry? 

Iris’s brain seemed to short circuit as she suddenly released he meant that he’d wet his pyjamas. Oh gods, she couldn’t go in there and clean up the guy she’d had a crush on forever! Not only would she be grossly invading his privacy but she’d never be able to look him in the face again if she saw his privates!

“Iris,” she felt Cor’s hand on her shoulder and turned slightly hysterically to see his sympathetic expression. “Maybe let me handle this one, yeah?”

Iris fled gladly and prayed to every Astral in existence that the four of them would be back to normal by the next day!


End file.
